Shoulder strap for high back overalls



Nov. 14, 1933.

L. W. JOYCE Filed NOV. 12, 1931 SHOULDER STRAP FOR HIGH BACK OVERALLS anwanker Lyndon wzfo yce gathers the material together in a number ofPatented Nov. 14, 1933 s'rRAr roar HIGH OVERALLS s'rIoULDER BACK *Lyndon W. Joyce, Greensboro, N. C.-, assignor to Joyce-VenningManufacturing Co. Inc.,.. Greensboro, N. C.,.a corporation of DelawareApplication November 12, 1931-. Serial No. 574,613

4 Claims. (01. 2 -227) This invention relates to overallsandparticularly those of the high back? type. It is customary to formthe back of these overalls of two lengths of material unitedlongitudinally in the middle of the back, the shoulder straps beingintegral with the lengths and cut on the bias so that they cross,forming a double thickness of material atthe base of the straps forpurpose of reinforcement. are made quite wide at the base in theinterest of strength and taper "gradually. to the ends. ,Since theshoulder straps are cut on the bias,

comparatively few of the Warp threads are continuous from end to end'ofthe strap and be-f cause of impairment inthe strength of the warp whichwould ensue, it has not heretofore been found practical to depart fromthe customary practice of having the strap taper from end toend. i

The tapering shape of the shoulder strap is however, decidedlydisadvantageous in the use of the overall. Garments of this type areusually purchased several sizes too large, to compensate for thesubsequent shrinkagein the wash. It is thereof necessary when wearingthe garment While new, to adjust the shoulder straps as shortv aspossible. The metallic adjusting slide is made of a width to fit theshoulder strap at the end, where it is narrowest, and when it ispushedup on to the wider-part of the strap, .it necessarily longitudinalWrinkles or folds, and the puckering becomes worse the further the slideis pushed up, until finally the mass of material chokes the slide and itjams.

This puckering not only gives an",unsightly appearance to the overallbut necessitatesthe use of undue force in effecting the adjustment, bothof which defects would be obviated if the strap could be made of uniformwidth, not

greater than the width of the space within the slide. a V Furthermore,the use ofelastic webbing as inserts or portions of the shoulder straphas been found exceedingly beneficial in the shoulder straps of overallsgenerally, but their use in the tapered straps of high back overalls hasnot heretofore been found practicable on account of the factthat elasticwebbing cannot be cut tapered, in View. of the freeing of many of therubber strands.

The present inventio-nhas for its general object the provision of ashoulder strap which changes from a taper adjacent the basev portion toa uniform width at least throughout a distance strap.

The shoulder straps ing portions, enetof which may be'elastic connect-,edby an insert constructedaccording to the dis high back overallgarment embodying the p'rinci- Figure 3 isa similar view in which theinsert two lengthsof material z and Shaving the warp equal to therangelof' adjustment ofthe' slide,

without irr'npairingthe strength of the shoulder Another object of'theinvention' is the provisionof an insert between the. tapered anduniformly wide portions of the shoulder strap,'the strength of which hasnot been weakened by bias cutting. V

Still another object of the invention'is to make the insert of elasticWebbing. 1

.Other .objectsof the inventionrelate to the shoulder strap itselfwhich. may bemade altogether of inelastic material or havinginelasticportions-connected by an elastic. insert or hav-.

closure of the present invention.

.Other object'softhe invention will appears the following description ofpreferred and pracv tica1;embodiments thereof proceeds. A

'In the drawing, throughout the several figures 'of which the samecharacters of referencehave beeniused to designate identicalparts:

. Figure l is a rear view in elevation showing a plesof the presentinvention; t I

Figure 2 illustratesthe details of construction of the shoulder, strapvin which theinsert is constituted by a single-folded member;v

comprises separatepieces arranged divergently. Referring nowin'detail'to theseve'ral figures the numeral .1 represents a pair ofoverallsf'of high back type, constructed as is customary of running inthe direction of .the'double headed arrow and .joinedby a" longitudinalseam Lin the middleofth'eback, The shoulderstraps arefcut integral withthe lengths 2 and "3 and extend diagonally, that is,bias-wise of thematerial so as 'to cross formingthe substantially diamondshaped region 5in which the material is of double thickness forpurpose ofreinforcement. The diamond-shaped region is preferably stitchedperipherally as indicated at 6, uniting the two thicknesses of material.r

In high back overalls asheretofore constructed, the shoulder straps areintegral and tapered from end to end, being widest at the point wherethey emanate from the-diamond-shaped region of double thickness andnarrowest 'at the extreme free end, the width of the narrowest portionbeing that of the space within the adjusting slide 7.

A tapered shoulder strap has the disadvantages mentioned in anenumeration of the objects of 10 the invention inasmuch as when theslide is pushed upwardly over the wider portions of the shoulder strapthe material is gathered or puckered together giving the strap anunsightly ap pearance and making it increasingly difficult to effect theadjustment as the slide is moved upwardly. It would accordingly be quiteadvantageous as the strap could be made of uniform width at leastthroughout that portion included in the range of movement of the slide.However, on account of the fact that'the strap is cut on the bias andconsequently, a comparatively small number or none at all of the warpthreads extend from end to end of the strap, it has been foundimpractical to cut into the tapered sides of the strap for the purposeof making it uniform in width in view of the impairment in strengthwhich would ensue from such cutting.

In the present invention, this desirable object has been attained byintercalating a fabric insert 8 between portions of the shoulder strap.This insert may be either elastic or inelastic. The particular virtue ofthis insert lies in the fact that it not only acts as a reducer betweenthe base portion 9 and the free portion 10 of the shoulder strap, whichit unites, but it does this without involving any bias cutting of warpthreads and therefore, does not impair the strength of the shoulderstrap. On the other hand, in the specific form in which the invention iscarried out it strengthens the shoulder strap.

'Figures 2 and 3 illustrate two forms of construction of thisinsert. InFigure 2 it comprises a piece 11 0f material of a width equal to theWidth of the free end portion 10 of the shoulder strap which is ofuniform width throughout. The piece 11 is folded divergently so that itsbase portion indicated at 12 in broken lines in Figure 2 is of the widthof the edge of the integral portion 9 of the shoulder strap. The insertis suitably united as by stitching, shown in Figure l to the adjacentedges of the free and integral portions of the shoulder strap, fittingthe width dimensions of the respective portions and at the same timeinvolving no diagonal cutting of the warp threads of thepiece 11.

Instead of the piece 11 being made by folding, it may be formed of twostrips 13 and '14 overlying one another so as substantially to coincideat one end and diverging so as to fit'the width dimension of theintegral portion 9 at their other ends. These strips are united to therespective adjacent ends of the shoulder strap portions by stitching inan obvious manner.

In a shoulder strap thus constructed, it is obvious that the freeportion 10 may be made of uniform width throughout the range of moveingthe objection as to puckering which lies against the continuouslytapered shoulder straps as ordinarily manufactured, and at the sametime, the reduction from tapered to uniform width has been effectedWithout any impairment in the strength of the strap.

It is obvious that the invention resides primarily in the provision ofshoulder straps for high back overalls which are of uniform widththroughout at least that portion of their length traversed by theadjusting slide, and that the invention particularly relates to theprovision of means for reducing an initially tapered shoulder strap toone of uniform width throughout that portion traversed by the adjustingslide, so as to avoid impairment in the strength of the shoulder strapresulting from cutting in on the bias fabric, as well as preventingpuckering of the material and jamming of the slide in the act ofadjusting the length of the shoulder straps, The invention concernsitself only secondarily in the details of construction as shown anddescribed, which are to be regarded as illustrative and not as limitingthe scope of the invention as claimed.

What I claim is:

1. High back overall including shoulder straps cut bias wise, each ofsaid shoulder straps including a tapered portion integral with the backof the overall and a portion of uniform width on which the adjustingslide travels, an insert com prising an elastic fabric web of a uniformwidth equal to the said portion of uniform width, having portionsarranged divergently so as to coincide at its ends with the widthdimensionsof the respective strap portions to which it is'attached.

2. High hack overall including shoulder straps out bias-wise, each ofsaid shoulder straps in cluding a tapered portion integral with the hackof the overall, and a portion of uniform width on whichthe adjustingslide travels, an insert comprising a length of elastic fabric web'of awidth equal to the width of the said portion of uniform width foldeddivergently so asto coincide at its ends withthe width dimensions of therespective strap portions to which it is'attached. E

and an insert comprising elastic fabric Web of a width equal to thewidth of the said portion of uniform width, arranged divergently so asto coincide at its ends with the width dimensions of the respectivestrap portions to which it is attached.

4. Shoulder strap .for high back overall as. I

claimed in claim 3, the fabric web comprising a single strip of uniformwidth folded divergently.

v LYNDON W. JOYCE.

